We try our hardest to make senior living communities feel like home for the residents. However, sometimes the space starts to look too much like home – when clutter starts to pile up and the decor looks just a little bit too eclectic it’s time to toss and refresh.

There’s no time like the present to clear your space and invest in a few key pieces to enhance the community. Here are a few easy tips from the designers at The Simple Home:

Three things that have to go:

Faux plants. That’s right folks, the silk or dried flower arrangements should hit the trash (and don’t hold it against us, but we mean the ficas trees, too!) Floor plants collect dust too easily, and are often an invitation for garbage collection; in memory care, they’ve been known to be used as a toilet – not what you want in your community.

Broken knick-knacks. If you get down to it, knick-knacks don’t really do anything to compliment your room design – often they’re left-behind from staff, visitors, and residents. If you have a car missing a wheel or an angel with a broken wing, get rid of them. These aren’t family heirlooms and they don’t need to be treated as such.

Miscellaneous Media. You’ve seen it before. A shelf full of VHS tapes…but no VCR. Empty or mislabeled DVD cases (think, only disk 2 of Gone With The Wind). Stacks of old newspapers or magazines scattered around. Blank or self-burned CD’s and DVD’s. If you have no way to view or listen to something, it’s time for donation or garbage. If it hasn’t been used in a year or two, it’s probably also time to throw it out.

Three things to enhance your space:

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Media Organization Containers. Decorative baskets are great for high-traffic collection points (think outside your salon, in sitting/waiting areas, etc.) and create a more organized look when used on shelves (put your CD’s & DVD’s in a basket on a shelf if they’re sitting out or making your shelves look cluttered).

Framed Bulletin Boards/Document Frames. Important documents like HR notices, schedules, and meeting or event reminders should not be taped to the wall. Create an organized place for them and set the standard that you have one location for this type of posting.

Real Plants or Quality Silk Plants. Real potted plants are great additions to most communities (Memory Care communities are the exception). If live plants aren’t something you can work with your staff to maintain well, opt for high quality silk orchids or boxwoods – they’re easy to wipe off and appear real.